Usapang Pelikula

Friday, June 29, 2012

It was a record-breaking year for Philippine cinema in the box-office. Star Cinema’s No Other Woman starring Anne Curtis, Derek Ramsey, and Cristine Reyes generated buzz among the Filipino audience, replete with one-liners and quotable quotes enriching, or diminishing, the lexicon of many teenagers. What the film lacked in profundity, it made up for in the box-office income – it grossed 278.39 million pesos setting the record at that time as the highest grossing Philippine film of all time. It did not hold that record for long. Barely a month later, Star Cinema’s The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin starring Vice Ganda earned 331.61 million pesos and broke the record previously held by No Other Woman, making it the highest grossing Philippine film of all time. What does it say about us Filipinos as a film audience that the highest grossing Philippine film of all time is a grossly humorless and unintelligent portrayal of gay men in the military? Certainly, it is time to strengthen film literacy in the country.

The number of regular commercially released films in 2011 totaled 29, including seven films released during the annual Metro Manila Film Festival. Of the 22 films released before the MMFF, Star Cinema/ABS-CBN Film Productions produced 13 (with a few collaborations with VIVA Entertainment, APT Entertainment, etc.) while GMA Films made four (two collaborations with Regal Films), Regal Films did two films and VIVA Entertainment had one. The dominance of the media conglomerates and mainstream film companies is apparent with only one film produced by an artist-run moviemaking company, Origin8 Media. The record-breaking box-office year for Star Cinema/ABS-CBN conceals the fact that the films produced in 2011, especially the independently produced, did not do as well at the box office and had abbreviated runs in the cinema complexes often replaced by Hollywood blockbusters. Only Zombadings and Ang Babae sa Septic Tank fared relatively well at the box-office.

In addition to the films released regularly, many films, mostly digitally produced, were screened in several film festivals. Cinema Rehiyon showed 5 films while Cinema One Originals featured 10 films; Cinemanila International Film Festival screened 7 films (4 Digital Lokal plus films by Lav Diaz, Raya Martin and John Torres). Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival showed 22 films (9 films in the New Breed section, 4 in Directors Showcase, 8 in Netpac Competition and the opening film). Of the eight shortlisted films by the Young Critics Circle Film Desk for 2011, five are from Cinemalaya . Even the MMFF had a New Wave section with 5 films including Haruo, YCC Film Desk’s Best Film for the year. Boosting the number of films shown in the Philippines in 2011 are the more than 50 digital films shown in various movie houses and alternative spaces. Some were part of film festivals and were picked up for regular release.

Last year displayed indicators of the diffusion of digital cinema in the Philippines. Allen and Gomery posit, “The process of diffusion begins once the technology begins to receive widespread use within an industry” (115). Digitally produced films have outnumbered 35mm since 2005 with several film festivals and competitions funding and showcasing them such as Cinemalaya, Cinema One Originals, .mov and Cinemanila’s Digital Lokal. Though not yet widespread, mainstream film companies such as GMA Films have already produced films such as Yam Laranas’ The Road using the Red Mysterium X camera, edited in HD, mastered on 2K and while it was transferred to 35mm for its Philippine release, it was shown internationally on Digital 2K format. There is an increasing number of digitally produced films and cinema complexes equipped with digital projectors. There is also a marked increase in the participation in local and international film festivals of digitally produced films. Award-giving bodies have also recognized numerous digitally produced films through the years. In fact, all the eight shortlisted films by the Young Critics Circle Film Desk this year are digitally produced.

The introduction of the digital technology in Philippine cinema in 1999 addressed problems in film production; it made filmmaking cheaper and more accessible. The more daunting challenge now is in distribution and exhibition. Several alternative venues for screening films have closed shop such as Robinson’s Galleria IndieSine (in 2010) and Mogwai Cinematheque (in August 2011). The Internet in the Philippines remains slow and unstable, preventing filmmakers from using the Web as a major platform for distribution and exhibition (such as live streaming, pay per view, paid downloads, etc.). Filmmakers and producers need to device alternatives to mainstream modes of distribution and exhibition so that digital cinema can finally fulfill the promise of accessibility.

The records broken in 2011 at the box-office by films from the media conglomerates and mainstream film production companies sound hollow if one considers the fact that these films offer nothing new and radical in terms of ideas and nothing transformative in terms of ideology. As former YCC Chair Dr. Eli Guieb said in his report last year, “dati naman nang maraming basura buhat sa sektor na ito.” And what of the so-called “independent” films? Most of their films are “digital adult romance” and “digital same-sex romance.” Dr. Guieb says, “Marahil, ang mas higit na kailangang pagtuunan ng pansin ay ang nawalang pangako ng mga independent films na, ayon sa mga apologist nito, ay siyang nagbibigay ng bagong pag-asa sa industriya ng pelikula sa bansa.” Where is the promise of more liberative and transformative “indie” films? The prognosis on the state of Philippine cinema sounds like a broken record.

Fortunately, there are still promising films and filmmakers in 2011. The YCC Film Desk had to adroitly sift through the more than 100 films shown in cinema houses, film festivals, and alternative venues in the Philippines in 2011, to arrive at an initial long list of 35 films and narrowed down to 8 short-listed films. Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay stages a critique of Philippine cinema and its star system in an entertaining fashion. Bisperas is a deft portrayal of a family victimized by robbery during Christmas Eve, and the inner workings, internal conflict, and power play among the family members. Tirso Cruz III and Raquel Villavicencio lead the ensemble in a performance tour de force.

For the first time in 22 years of the YCC Film Desk’s existence, six different films won in the six categories. Diana Zubiri’s portrayal of a nurse in the country’s busiest maternity hospital is transcendent in the film Bahay Bata. Her quiet, sensitive yet powerful performance conveys her empathy for the expectant mothers while she walks around the corridors of Fabella Hospital carrying a personal burden and moral dilemma. Rody Vera’s screenplay for Niño is an intelligent, penetrating, nuanced, and layered telling of the fall of an elite family and/in their grand house. The decadence could not conceal the decay consuming the architecture and family. Señorita is an attempt at portraying corruption in the local government level through the eyes of a high-class transvestite prostitute who acts as finance manager of a mayoral candidate as well as surrogate mother to a young boy. In Teoriya, we bare witness to a journey as a man searches for the grave of his father, searches for his identity, and searches for a past in hopes of knowing, reconciling, and forgiving. Delicately shot, the film does not merely show us the journey, it makes us feel we are part of it - we are with him through his travails and discoveries. Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa glides in the use of dance as a metaphor and as a plot element, a confluence of literature, pedagogy, music, dance, theater and sexuality. The film receives the Best Sound and Aural Orchestration award but it is in the silences where the film is most poignant. At the heart of the film is love – love for art, poetry, dance, music, and love for life. Love for everything that is important and essential to survive the travails of daily life. It is not a perfect film, but the object of love never is.

The YCC Film Desk’s Best Film for the year is Haruo, a film by Adolf Alix that portrays an ex-Yakuza’s attempt to escape his past by living an anonymous life in the populous and hurried city of Manila. The title “Haruo” means “springtime man” in Japanese – the quest for atonement, for forgiveness, for a new life - a promise of a new beginning for the eponymous character. Sadly, that promise will be unfulfilled - Haruo’s past catches up on him. Alix triumphs in incorporating several Japanese motifs in the film such as the haiku and ikebana while following Haruo’s almost silent and invisible life in the environs of Manila. Haruo is an example of Philippine cinema being inflected by a different aesthetic, a promise of Philippine cinema becoming global.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Musicals, films that incorporate songs and sometimes dance numbers in the narrative, have a long history in cinema from memorable Hollywood classics such as Singin’ in the Rain, An American in Paris, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music to Bollywood films such as Lagaan which have their own elaborate song and dance routines.

Philippine cinema has a rich tradition of musicals and the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art categorizes them into four kinds: filmed sarswela, sarswela-type musical, Hollywood-type musical, and the new musical. Mike de Leon won the URIAN Best Director for his comedy musical Kakabakaba Ka Ba? with Nanette Inventor in an unforgettable scene where she leads a group of nuns in a rousing and rocking song and dance number.

Though I am not particularly fond of the musical genre, I do have some memorable musicals in my life. I love Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge for the spectacle, the grand theatrical production numbers with a tinge of MTV, the pastiche of songs and lyrics highlighted in the Elephant Love Medley, and the use of recognizable songs but with a twist such as a tango version of Roxanne. It may sound cheesy but my favorite line in the movie is “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

But since it is Holy Week, memories of Jesus Christ Superstar fill my thoughts. Holy Week was hell for me as a child – no television, FM radio, playing outside, meat, good food, and soft drinks while stores and movie houses were closed. My mother forced us to pray the rosary, sing the pasyon and attend all the rituals in church. On Palm Sundays, my father would automatically bring out his cassette tapes of the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack and the music filled our house for the entire week. Bible-based movies such as The Ten Commandments and Jesus Christ Superstar were shown before or after television goes off.

As a way to escape the boredom of Holy Week, my sisters and I re-enacted the scenes in the movie. We memorized the lyrics of the entire soundtrack - every single word, how it was sung, the musical instruments in the background and the characters in the film who sang the songs. When we had a Betamax, we rented the movie every Holy Week and watched the movie over and over again to get tips on how to re-enact the scenes. We alternated characters but I loved the parts of Jesus Christ, Judas and King Herod. I performed with passion and sang mostly out of tune – I am a music idiot and tone deaf but I did not care. My siblings had the other parts covered and sometimes we included our childhood friends in our re-enactments. We used bed sheets and belts for our costumes and transformed our bedroom into the set of Jesus Christ Superstar. My favorite parts were Hosanna, Everything’s Alright, Peter’s Denial, Herod’s Song, Could we start again please, and Gethsemane. I was fascinated then at how the entire story of the last few days of Jesus was told through music. Jesus Christ Superstar, the movie and the music, became my salvation from the dreary monotony of Holy Week.

We did not know who Andrew Lloyd Webber or Tim Rice were, we did not know that the movie was based on a Broadway musical that originated from a rock opera album, and we did not know it was an Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated movie. We just loved watching the movie and loved singing and rocking to the songs. The Jesus Christ Superstar ritual continued until we were teens.

When I moved out of the house, I brought with me the tapes of Jesus Christ Superstar and continue to listen to them during Holy Week. I also make it a point to watch the movie every time it is shown. To prepare for this Holy Week I searched my DVD collection for Jesus Christ Superstar but alas, I don’t have it! A sense of panic hit me but then I calmed down when I realized that every scene and song of Jesus Christ Superstar is indelibly imprinted in my mind’s silver screen.

Photos from http://www.moviescreenshots.blogspot.com/2006/08/jesus-christ-superstar-1973.html

Originally published April 2, 2010 http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/metakritiko/metakritiko-opinions/5636.html

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Summer is here, and one great way to spend these hot summer days and nights is to stay indoors and watch movies. You can catch up on the movies you missed during the semester, or organize movie nights with your barkada. If you are looking for places to watch other films aside from the usual summer movie blockbuster fare like Clash of the Titans in the cineplexes, try to catch movies in alternative venues such as the University of the Philippines Film Institute, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Mogwai Cinematheque in Cubao X, and Fully Booked in The Fort, among others.

Teaching in the University of the Philippines in Diliman and living inside the campus as well, I consider myself fortunate that I have easy access to the UP Film Institute Cine Adarna. It has been my “home” movie house since my college days in the late 1980s. I wait for the embassy films such as the Eiga Sai Japanese Film Festival, as well as the Cinemalaya and CinemaOne films. I remember my first exposure to the films of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kai-wai, Japanese filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano, and Thai filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang at the UPFI and I have followed their film careers since then. The UPFI has two screening venues: the main cinema which has a seating capacity of 766 and the smaller and more intimate Videotheque which has a seating capacity of 50. For the past few years, the UPFI has provided regular runs and premieres for digital films, mostly independently produced. With the recent closure of Robinson’s IndieSine, the UPFI remains the only venue to offer regular runs to independently produced films that do not have access to the mall-based commercial cinema houses. For screening schedules of the UP Film Institute Cine Adarna, you can check out their website as well as join their Facebook fan page and e-group.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), located at Roxas Boulevard, Manila, is a regular venue for film screenings and workshops. Since 2005, the CCP has conducted the annual Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Check out their website for their screening schedule. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in Intramuros, Manila not only gives funding to filmmakers to produce their films, they also hold screenings albeit not on a regular basis.

Restaurants, cafes, galleries, and bars are popular alternative venues for film screenings. Unfortunately, some have closed shop already, such as Khavn de la Cruz’s Ora Café and Joey Fernandez’s Brash Young Cinema. Cinekatipunan of Mag:net Katipunan started in September 2005 and was very active in screening independent films. Rock Drilon, Mag:net owner, said, “…we were practically the only venue screening indie films daily” for the past several years. Sadly, in June 2009 the MTRCB asked them to stop showing films. According to Drilon, “After three years of daily screenings (indie films mostly) and occasional talks with featured filmmakers, MTRCB suspended us and threatened to lock up café unless we change our license to theater. Even if we counter-argued Cinekatipunan is only a component of our programming and that we are also a venue for live music, poetry readings and art shows, they would not hear any of it. We had no choice but to discontinue.” Cinekatipunan was programmed by several filmmakers and practitioners such as Kiri Dalena, Nap Jamir, John Torres, Elvert Banares, Khavn de la Cruz, and the late Alexis Tioseco.

Good thing there is still Mogwai Cinematheque, located at Unit 62 & 63 Cubao Expo, Gen. Romulo Ave., Cubao. Owned by filmmakers, it is “…dedicated to showing all sorts of films from Hollywood classics to underground cinema, art-house fare to Pinoy grindhouse flicks. Run by practicing filmmakers and film scholars as consultants, it is the only other cinema aside from the U.P. Film Center and Cultural Center of the Philippines to have no censorship restrictions in the country.” It recently screened Mark Peranson’s Waiting for Sancho, the Oscar-nominated animated film The Secret of Kells by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, and the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man, as well as Woody Allen's Annie Hall. A popular watering hole for artists, filmmakers, and students, the café/restaurant beneath the Mogwai Cinematheque is a perfect spot to hang out after watching to exchange ideas.

The Fully Booked Film Series at the Fully Booked Fort Bonifacio's U-View Cinema was programmed by the late film critic Alexis Tioseco. It is now known as The Tioseco-Bohinc Film Series to honor of the memory of Tioseco and Nika Bohinc, both talented film critics murdered late last year. They recently screened Christopher Gozum’s Anacbanua, Khavn’s Paalam Aking Bulalakaw, Ray Gibraltar’s When Timawa Meets Delgado and CLIMAX, “a live cinema /experimental video project consisting of many episodes and incarnations.” You can join their Facebook page for their screening schedule.

The Titus Brandsma’s pelikula@titusbrandsma is a free monthly film screening by the Titus Brandsma Center (TBC) Media Program that features a variety of films. They recently screened Wong Kar-wai’s Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love, and 2046; Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot; Guillermo del Toro’s Pan's Labyrinth; Bong Joon-ho’s Madeo (Mother); Marleen Gorris’s Antonia (Antonia's Line); and Pedro Almodovar’s La flor de mi secreto (The Flower of My Secret). Titus Brandsma is located at St. Elijah Hall, 26 Acacia St. Brgy. Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City. For their screening schedule and queries, you may contact Ms. Bituin Quinto at 726-6054 or 09174759244 or join their e-group.

After the summer break, if you still have not satisfied your craving for films, you can always wait for the annual film festivals such as the Cinemanila International Film Festival, Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and Cinema One Originals.

The Cinemanila International Film Festival, organized by veteran filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz, is the longest running international film festival in the country. I fervently followed Cinemanila especially during its early years. I would save all my five-peso coins and when the festival commenced, I would use my savings to pay for the tickets. My five-peso coins got me tickets to some of my most memorable films, including Lars von Trier’s Dogville, François Ozon’s Swimming Pool, Fernando Meirelles’s City of God, Mojtaba Raei's Birth of a Butterfly, Walter Salles’s Central Station, Pedro Almodovar’s Talk to Her, Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, and Gustavo Mosquera’s Moebius.

The Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival is organized by the CCP and features newly-produced original full-length digital films every year. They also show films out of competition during the festival.

Cinema One Originals funds full-length digital feature films every year. It is a project of the Creative Programs, Inc. (CPI), a subsidiary of the country’s largest media conglomerate, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. Both Cinemanila and Cinema One Originals started in 2005. There is also .mov International Digital Film Festival, organized by Khavn and last held in 2008. Visit their websites for updates on the festivals.

One festival that I personally miss is the Pelikula at Lipunan, organized almost single-handedly by the indefatigable Nick Deocampo, independent filmmaker, film historian, and cultural worker. The annual film festival featuring Filipino film classics from the country’s top filmmakers such as Lamberto Avellana, Ishmael Bernal, Lino Brocka, Gerry de Leon, Eddie Romero, and Peque Gallaga started in 1994 with the help of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Film Committee, then headed by Eddie Romero, National Artist for Film. I followed Pelikula at Lipunan since its inception and I remember spending several days in SM cinemas in film marathons watching classics such as Juan Makabayan, Oro Plata Mata, Himala, Moral, Karnal, Brutal, Jaguar, and Manila by Night. I vividly remember rushing to Ever Gotesco in Recto just to catch Ishmael Bernal’s Nunal sa Tubig. I was determined to watch as many Filipino classics as I could and it turned out to be a very enriching experience for me.

The various cultural arms of the embassies also show films or sponsor film showings such as the Alliance Française de Manille, Goethe-Institut in the Philippines, and the Instituto Cervantes of Manila. I remember watching Krzysztof Kieślowski’s White at the Alliance Française. The Goethe-Institut has been active in organizing film production workshops and film screenings as well. You can check out their websites for announcements of their film-related activities.

Students and friends ask me where they can get copies of good old Tagalog movies, classic Hollywood movies, art house films, and films that are not usually shown in the commercial movie houses. Here are some suggestions.

Check out the DVDs, VCDS and Blu-ray discs in video stores in the malls such as Astrovision. Rummage through their sale bins for some great deals. I bought Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, a film banned by the MTRCB in the late 80s, for P99 a few weeks back. Though not very well-stacked with classic Filipino films, there are some gems to be found. I recently upgraded two of my favorites, Peque Gallaga’s Oro Plata Mata and Ishmael Bernal’s Himala, from old worn-out VHS to DVDs.

I also scout Fully Booked and Powerbooks. Both bookstores carry re-mastered classic Filipino films and new releases. Amazon, the popular online store, sells films but I have not yet personally tried it. You could also download films on the Internet through torrents, but since I have no idea how to do it, I cannot tell you much. My friends and students have tried to teach me several times but I am an epic fail. And of course, there is always your friendly neighborhood Jack Sparrow who walks the streets and offers pirated DVDs. You need not go to Quiapo, Divisoria, or Greenhills to get a DVD fix; they are brought right to your doorstep.

I remember the days of small video rental shops on almost every street in the metro. Growing up, I was fortunate to have an auntie who loved borrowing Betamax and VHS tapes. I recall accompanying her to a video store on West Avenue to borrow the taped episodes of her favorite TV series and old Hollywood movies. The video store happened to be right in front of my uncle’s car repair shop in West Avenue, so I usually volunteered to accompany family members on their car repair errands just so I could visit the video store. That shop was Video48, a video store that proved to be an integral part of my film education. I remember borrowing old Hollywod classics such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, and An Affair to Remember. Video48 has an extensive collection of old Filipino movies as well as films from other parts of the globe.

If you find yourself getting more interested in films and you want to know more, you may explore the option of enrolling in film production classes such as in Mowelfund Film Institute, UP Film Institute, and the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute & Arts Center. You can also enroll in film appreciation and Philippine cinema classes. The UP Film Institute offers Film 10 Sining Sine and Film 12 Sine Pinoy as general education subjects. The UP Department of Art Studies offers Art Studies 177 (Cinema in Philippine Culture) and Art Studies 274 (Philippine Cinema) - I love teaching both subjects. Imagine spending the whole semester watching movies and discussing the films with your classmates after watching – heaven! Ask around in your schools and universities, they might have similar courses. There are also numerous school-based organizations that hosts lectures with film showings. Regularly check your school’s bulletin boards for announcements.

Finally, just to keep myself informed about film-related activities, I subscribed to two e-groups where most announcements are posted – the University of the Philippines Film Institute and Cinemanila. Another source of information is PinoyFilm.com. Facebook has also been increasingly utilized as a venue to announce film showings and other film-related activities; always check the events posted there.

There is a variety of venues to watch films and there are numerous ways to get your hands on some films you have been planning to watch. So, relax … see a movie.

Originally published in POC Metakritiko in April 2010, http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/metakritiko/metakritiko-features/5753.html

Thursday, March 15, 2012

While doing my research on digital cinema in the Philippines, it was inevitable that I talk to Ed Cabagnot. Here's an excerpt of our conversation where Ed shares his experience with the ECP and the early years of Gawad CCP.

I worked with Ed in the early 1990s, he's at the CCP Film while I was with the CCP Visual Arts and then CCP Outreach. I learned a lot about films and photography from him. One afternoon, passing through Ed's office I saw him watching a film, I stopped and joined him. I was enthralled, completely awed and fell in love. The film was Raise the Red Lantern by Zhang Yimou. Unfortunately, I had a meeting to go to and I was not able to finish the film. But the images stayed with me. I was fortunate to finally finish the film a few years back. I am still in love with it. Thank you, Ed.

EH: I’m very interested in your first-hand experience in the GAWAD CCP, Freefest and Cinemalaya. Please take us back in time.

ED: My first statement is that Cinemalaya is one of the most successful projects of the Cultural Center of the Philippines to date in the sense that audience-wise even if we did not have press release, people came and the screenings get filled up. So audience-wise, every year people flock to watch Cinemalaya films. Number two, revenue-wise it is also one of the most lucrative CCP projects. In the past year Cinemalaya earned 27.5 million pesos in ticket sales, compared to the first year which was barely 5 million -- so you can see the trajectory. And I’m not saying “kasi ang galing- galing ng CCP,” I’m just saying that the time is right. We have a lot of people making new films. We have a lot of audiences who are looking for films and then we have a venue like CCP which is giving these people the space.

My statement there is that the success of Cinemalaya wasn’t overnight. The road to Cinemalaya was a long, long road and I think if you will allow me, I think it even goes beyond CCP. For me, from my experience, I think the first stirring of this movement was called Philippine Independent filmmaking which started as early, even before the 80’s. My first hand experience with the indies was working under the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. So I can bring you back -- this was created by the Marcos administration in February 1982 to be the managing organization of Imelda’s Manila Film Center. So the ECP was created to create film-related events that can push Philippine cinema forward. So on one side of the ECP was Imelda’s MIFF - Manila International Film Festival – whose main goal was to make Manila the Cannes of Asia, the Cannes Film Festival of Asia. On the other side of CCP was Imee. Imee was tasked by Marcos to create the other incentives. And what were the other incentives? Other incentives included a film fund which means if you have a film in production but cannot finish it due to financial difficulties, you can show your rushes and then the ECP would give you the balance. And then there were film production which was responsible for four of the best films I know – Oro, Plata, Mata, Himala, Soltero, Misterio sa Tuwa. And then you have the archives headed ni Ernie De Pedro. It was a beautiful archives below. And then you have Film Education of Ward Loarca but that did not really take off.

And then where I was, was the Alternative Cinema. Alternative Cinema’s job was just to fill up all the theatres of the Manila Film Center and we had more than 13 theatres with regular screenings. The main theatre of the Manila Film Festival Center could seat approximately 1,800 people. The 2 smaller theaters were big; they were as big as the Little Theater – 450-seater and a 350-seater. And then you have the mini preview rooms which could sit 100 people to 300 people. So that was our job.

My boss before was Boy Noriega. So doon sa Alternative Cinema, I was handling the classic films - the Renoirs, Truffauts, Kurosawas, the Fellinis, etc. And then somebody else was handling the Filipino titles. And then somebody else was handling the independent films. For me, it all started with the ECP Independent Film and Video Competition. It started, if I’m not mistaken, in 1982. Bienvenido “Boy” Noriega Jr., the playwright, inspired it. He was also a bank vice president for PNB, but at the same time he was an officer of ECP, and he was an author. He loved short films, he loved classic movies, so he was the one with Imee, who thought of coming up with a competition. So the ECP Experimental Cinema and Independent Film & Video competition became the first ever regular competition sponsored by the government that gave young Filipino filmmakers awards for the best documentary, best short feature or narrative film, best experimental and best animation - so the 4 categories were there. The likes of Nick Deocampo, Raymond Red, Joey Agbayani, Rox Lee and a host of other people who many consider as the pillars of Philippine Independent Cinema became known here. And I remember we were all young then, they were programming the festival, we were all joining the festival, and it was fun.

EDSA People Power happened in 1986 and one of the first things that the new administration did was shut down most of the Marcos’s machineries. Unfortunately, I felt it was very relentless. They should have kept the ones that worked and I felt that the ECP was one of the best efforts of the government, but unfortunately they shut it down. Manila Film Center was closed. CCP changed its thrust. You know that Eloi, you were from here - decentralization, etc. They opened CCP to include the non-performing arts so the VLMA (Visual Literary Media Arts) was formed and Hammy Sotto became the head for Film. They wanted the CCP not just a venue but also a Coordinating Center.

So when Hammy came in, he asked me to join him. To be honest, I did not want to work with government anymore but Hammy is a nice guy and said. “Don’t worry Ed, we’ll have as much fun as you did in ECP.” When I joined CCP, most of the projects/programs that we did at the ECP were adopted by the CCP. But of course, CCP’s budget is much smaller than ECP’s - you know all of a sudden arts and culture fell into nothingness. You were here, you know how our budgets were, but we did very good projects. One of the projects that had a reincarnation was the ECP Independent Film and Video Competition that was renamed GAWAD CCP para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video.

Hammy was so wise. He didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, so the Coordinating Center for Film in 1987 was patterned after the ECP but on a very, very small scale. I managed World Cinema. Lyn Pareja managed Filipino Greats. And then you had Jon Red who was managing the Indie film. So Jon Red was in-charged of GAWAD CCP para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video. And what was nice even though there was one or two years gap between the end of ECP and the start of Coordinating Center for Film, when we started the GAWAD there was a smooth transition. A lot of people joined like Mark Leily, they all joined. To be honest with you, even the exact rules and regulations of the GAWAD was based on the ECP.

EH: So this was about ‘88?

ED: ‘87. The good then thing is we felt that the ECP pattern was good, so why re-invent it? That’s the problem with Filipino, when there’s a change in management, everything changes. That’s why I like Hammy because he is not like that, for him it was “let’s just do this because it was good in the first place.” So the categories survived up to now.

The GAWAD CCP para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video is one of the longest running GAWAD of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. But Eloi, please help me with this research, it’s my claim that “it is the longest running Independent Film Festival in Asia.” There’s no other independent competition, especially for shorts, that I know existed in countries including Japan or even India. So if you could help me with that claim. But at least for Southeast Asia I know we were first and we’re still there.

So yung Independent Cinema scene I think, if you just look at all the winners of the GAWAD, you would see the trending, you would see the themes and technologies that were the trend for certain periods.

EH: Were you able to keep the films?

Ed: No. We only started archiving the films between 20 years, during the 10th or 11th year. But the nice thing is most of the entries of the GAWAD CCP came from Mowelfund, UP, Ateneo, La Salle and most of these schools would have their archives. Unfortunately, I just found out from Ricky Orellana that even Mowelfund is having a hard time archiving their shorts. They still have but they need the funding and the people to maintain it, digitize it - so that’s the problem.

EH: What about your catalogs?

ED: The catalogs are almost complete in the CCP library. And for the 20th anniversary (of CCP), Ricky and I had been talking about having some of the Mowelfund shorts digitized using CCP equipment. Because we feel that we own it partly because they’re GAWAD winners. And as I’ve said, young people nowadays especially they’re going into independent filmmaking, it’s nice for them to realize that they are not alone - a lot of people started before them.

EH: That they’re not “putok sa buho?”

ED: Exactly. For me, that’s one of the ways we can help them. There are a lot of independent filmmakers who are big-headed; they think they are always the first to do things, which I don’t mind, it’s nice to have a big ego but if you feel like you’re a part of a tradition, then that’s better.

About Me

Associate Professor at the Department of Art Studies, University of the Philippines Diliman and Fine Arts Program of Ateneo de Manila University.
Ph.D. in Philippine Studies with dissertation on "The Political Economy of Digital Cinema in the Philippines."
Young Critics Circle Film Desk.
Author, "Homebound: Women Visual Artists in Nineteenth century Philippines."
would rather BIKE!